Belle’s Workday Reading: August 19, 2014
Aug 19, 2014
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1) For women working in politics, Dotty Lynch was a trailblazer. She was wise, she was interesting, she was gracious and she loved to see other women succeed. She will be missed, but her influence on the next generation of political operatives will be her professional legacy.
2) This ivory sheath from Ellen Tracy is to die for. The waist details are fabulous. And did I mention that it costs under-$100. For something darker, this color block dress from Halogen is a great choice (also in petites).
3) I’m trying to learn more about managing money and building my retirement. I’m really intrigued by this idea of motif investing.
4) I always check the Sole Society new arrivals for fashionable, affordable pieces. This dark green Marlow satchel is stunning. This grey-and-black haircalf pump is a sophisticated animal print. I also like these Sidney ankle boots for casual Friday.
5) I’m terrible with names. How I have survived in politics without this important skill is anyone’s guess. As for why I can’t remember, this article from The Atlantic has some interesting thoughts on why names are so easy to forget.
6) The Limited has some great pencil skirts. This dot pencil skirt is nice. I also like this patterned jacquard skirt. For fall, this faux-leather pencil skirt with a high waist is an amazing steal at $69.
7) Lifehacker explores the complex relationship between happiness and motivation.
8) Looking for some under-$25 work blouses? Look no further than Forever21. This sheer accordion-pleat blouse comes in three neutral colors. I love the small print on this speckled blouse. This sleeveless, tie-neck top comes in five colors (I love the orange!) and costs just $12.
9) We’ve all seen the iconic poster of Rosie the Riveter encouraging women to get into the workforce to support the war effort. The Washington Post has the true stories of the real life Rosies.
10) This long, station necklace from Nordstrom is $28 and comes in rose, yellow and white tone metal. I want them all.
Belle, Thank you so much for sharing that article about Dotty. She was my favorite college professor and influenced so many in DC and in politics. I hope that women all over the country will be inspired by reading the WaPo piece.
Motif looks like it falls into a dangerous middle ground where people can pretend they know what they are doing without actually doing their own research. Maybe consider Bogleheads for the basics, and Joshua Kennon for the intricacies of how to assess individual companies.
I agree. I would actually even go as far as to suggest avoiding picking individual stocks, no matter how sexy it feels or sounds.
Index-tracking funds, or ETFs are the way to go. I have a whole series talking about the basics of that here.
Seconded! I’m just beginning to stumble into the retirement planning game myself, and have been enjoying the macro-level advice in the retirement series on this blog:
https://www.theflyingbuck.com/five-keys-to-saving-for-retirement/
Some good insight for the basics on that and a few other personal finance-related issues.
If you are interested in investing and not losing your shirt in the process you might want to read my investing series. I try to make it simple for people who are starting out in it (basically I advocate buying index-tracking funds, either in ETFs or mutual funds).
Link here: Investing Series on Save. Spend. Splurge.
An active investor buying stocks or going with a financial advisor who claims to have a high performing fund doesn’t beat the market average. That’s it.
I haven’t read through your links, but any suggestions for resources on the how-tos of getting started (e.g. books and such)? I save the max for my Roth IRA, but have no clue about how I should go about investing it. For the first 10k, I just did what Schwab suggested according to my age/risk profile, but I don’t like having such little control. Now I’ve got last year’s 5k just sitting there.
Bogleheads wiki/forum really is incredible. There is a book too, but most of the information is online already.
And I agree that it is exceedingly rare for investors to beat the market average long-term (possible, but more risky to do it short-term). The reason I directed Belle to Joshua Kennon is he talks about how to evaluate quarterly earnings reports and underlying business. She is certainly seems intelligent enough to do that if she wants to, but it is a time-consuming hobby for someone in law school and running blog.
i’ve recently started listening to the personal finance podcast “listen money matters.” the guys are knowledgeable, real, and funny and i think they give a good platform someone to start doing some of their own research. great discussion, though, so thanks! i definitely wouldn’t mind hearing more about what resources others use for personal finance.
also, belle, i’ve never commented before, but i love your blog and check it almost daily. your style is great and humor, whitty. chs is such a treat to read!
i love the pleather skirt, i just wish it was available in brown. there was a similar one at ann taylor last season. wish i could wear that kind of stuff to work. 🙂
Interesting read on happiness and motivation, thanks for sharing!
And I’m a big fan of sole society too. I’m always browsing their new arrivals.
Style by Joules